I Will Always Be By Your Side
by sakurastarberry
Summary: Written for SasuSaku Month 2012. Prompt 26: Loss- "Everything and Nothing" Sasuke separated his life in two parts. One was his life before the massacre. The other was his life after, but he thought it was more of an existence rather than a life.
1. Dare

Title: Men do not back down from challenges

Summary: Naruto is an idiot. Kiba and Lee are fools. Sasuke is even worse for actually joining them.

Rating: T

Prompt: Dare

Warning(s): Silliness

Notes: Short. To be expanded. Team 7 Genin days inspired by ep 101

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to its owners.

-S-

"As punishment, the Rookie Nine and Team Gai will not be allowed to leave the village for the rest of the season. They will be carrying out D-rank missions and helping out at the Academy in addition to their own genin training." Shizune read out from a scroll, a pitying look on her face. "Sorry kids."

-S-

The previous day:

"Come on. You guys are so boring, " Naruto whined, stomping his feet on the ground.

"Dobe, shut up and leave us alone, " said Sasuke as he continued pulling out weeds in some elderly's garden.

Beside him, Sakura had already given up. She simply sat in the shade of a nearby tree, her eyelids becoming heavier and heavier. Sasuke was sure she would fall asleep soon.

Naruto had walked over to Sakura and reached an arm out, intending to wake Sakura up. Sasuke had caught his wrist before he could.

"She's exhausted. Let her rest." Wow. Sasuke really was fast. He was sure Sasuke had been at least twenty feet away with his back turned. Did the Sharingan work like a pair of eyes in the back of Sasuke's head?

"Kakashi-sensei isn't here. Let's go ask baa-chan for missions." Naruto pleaded.

"Go by yourself. Last time we disobeyed orders, we got stuck running laps for two whole weeks." Sasuke countered. To be honest, it wasn't completely pointless. The challenge had tremendously improved his stamina. Kakashi had even taught him ways to conserve his energy when carrying cargo and traveling long distances. The "cargo" had been a blushing Sakura on his back and he did his best to ignore how tightly she had held on to him.

And with that, Naruto had stalked off to find allies.

-S-

Lee had eagerly accepted to accompany him on his youthful journey. And Kiba had been bored. Ino and Chouji had been curious. Shikamaru was forced to join. Hinata wanted to take any opportunity to be close to Naruto of course. Shino had decided to join his teammates. Neji had to keep Hinata safe. Tenten had tagged along for fun.

Naruto had returned to recruit Sakura and Sasuke only to find them both asleep, leaning against each other on the tree Sakura had been sleeping under when he left.

Naruto took it as the perfect opportunity to play a prank on Sasuke, having never caught him asleep. Sasuke always woke up earlier than them on missions.

He gestured to the others to keep quiet as he pulled out a pen to draw on Sasuke's face.

He slowly, carefully, inched the marker closer to Sasuke's face. Right as the marker tip almost touched his cheek, the marker was yanked out of his hand. Then his arms were tied behind his back, with Sasuke's foot resting on the middle of his back.

"Idiot." Sasuke declared before he released Naruto and went back to his spot beside Sakura. He made the clone disappear and caught Sakura's head as she slumped down. Sasuke pulled on her arms and supported her body as he made her stand.

"I DARE YOU. Teme, I didn't know you were a coward." Naruto had taunted.

"I accept! Men do not back down from challenges." Lee spoke up.

"Sakura, I know you're awake, " he whispered into her ear. Sakura had immediately tensed and then shyly separated from his hold.

"Sakura-chan! Let's go ask Tsunade-sama to send us on missions. It's not fair that we're all stuck here in the village." Naruto protested.

"Can't believe it, but I agree with the idiot."

"You're an idiot too, Kiba."

"Hey, Blondie, take that back!" he retorted, turning towards Ino.

"Please, let's not fight. We must unite for our cause!" Lee had spoken up, trying to break up the argument.

The rest just shook their heads and watched the free entertainment.

They all looked up when Sakura had started running after Sasuke's retreating form.

"Where are you going, Sasuke-kun?" They heard Sakura ask as they all followed him.

"Looking for Kakashi."

"Hey, is it true that your sensei is really ugly?" Tented had quipped.

"Don't tell me you actually believe Gai-sensei" Neji said.

"That does make sense though. He's always wearing a mask. There must be something wrong with his face." Chouji spoke up.

"Then, let's find out." Surprisingly, it was the usually silent Shino.

Everyone stared at him until Hinata shyly broke the tension with a quiet, "I agree with Naruto-kun."

"So, what are we doing? Asking for missions or looking for the weird sensei?" Tenten inquired.

"Hey, wait! This was all my idea. TEME stop taking credit for my dare!" Naruto's protests fell on deaf ears.

"I'm going with Sasuke-kun!" Sakura and Ino had said simultaneously. Sakura had quickly jumped onto Sasuke's back and Sasuke had caught her automatically, his body remembering the two weeks of running around the forests with Sakura on his back.

"Get off, Sakura." He paused and allowed Sakura to jump down, but she remained latched onto his arm.

"Let's look for him and then make him take us on a mission since the other sensei are busy." Shikamaru thought aloud. "But I don't feel like making plans for you guys. I'll just watch. I'm tired."

And so Rookie Nine and Team Gai ran around the village, making up odd schemes to catch Kakashi, take off his mask, and blackmail him into getting them a mission.

And that was how they ended up in the Hokage building. They made a ruckus outside one of the meeting doors, and out stepped some foreign dignitaries. They all stood there frozen. Tsunade was giving them the evil eye.

"I will deal with you tomorrow." She said simply, then went back to escorting the foreign dignitaries out. Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai followed them out, staring at their students.

Well, at least now they knew why their teachers were busy. One mystery solved.

And they did end up getting missions.

-S-

"As punishment, the Rookie Nine and Team Gai will not be allowed to leave the village for the rest of the season. They will be carrying out D-rank missions and helping out at the Academy in addition to their own genin training." Shizune read out from a scroll, a pitying look on her face. "Sorry kids."

"Sasuke-teme! This was all your fault!"

"Hey, Dobe, wasn't this all _your_ idea? _Your_ dare? Don't blame me."

-S-

A/N: That didn't turn out so great… I lost my first draft, the longer version and I just hurried to finish this in time for SSM.

notesII: To be honest, I wanted to write some SasuSaku fluff.


	2. Hallucinate

Title: Hallucinate

Summary: The petals slowed down, coming together to form a shape. They compacted together, molding into a head, a torso, arms, and limbs. The basic shape of a human further molded into that of a girl. The pink petals then faded to pink hair, and the rest of the body followed, forming the unmistakable image of Sakura.

Rating: K+

Prompt: Hallucinate

Warning(s): Some slight violence and blood.

Notes: Stand-alone-ish.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to its owner.

-S-

When Sasuke was six, back in the good old days (before the bloodshed, the sleepless nights, and the loss), he used to climb the cherry blossom tree in his mother's garden. His mother loved gardening and had the gift of a green thumb. Every spring, they attended the Cherry Blossom Festival for the festivities (and not just because his family had given generous donations.) He remembers it was one of the rare times that the compound's private Uchiha Garden would be open to the public. Even after moving to a penthouse, far away from his old home, Sasuke still visited the gardens.

After he graduated, he always paused to admire the cherry blossom tress every chance he got. It was nice to see different types of cherry blossom trees whenever their missions took them away from the village. This habit continued even after he left and cut ties with Konoha.

-S-

Today, after being sent on another bloody errand for the Akatsuki leader, he separated from the others for a few moments of solace. He found a sturdy cherry blossom tree fully bloomed. He decided that for just a moment, he would pause, and he would rest. He leaned against its large trunk.

He sat under the tree, not minding the petals that swirled around him, separated from the branches above by the gently blowing breeze. They drifted down, some landing on his hair as he rummaged in his backpack for bandages.

He treated his wounds and watched, mesmerized as the petals danced around him. Slowly, they drifted closer and closer together. Then, they picked up speed as they surrounded him and the trunk. It was like being inside a tornado of pink petals.

As they came closer, his vision was almost completely obscured by the flowers. He could barely see anything past the pink. His mind (his heart) brought up unbidden memories of a pink-haired girl. He was reminded of her, of Sakura. Of how her hair would be the only thing he could see whenever she hugged him.

The petals slowed down, coming together to form a shape. They compacted together, molding into a head, a torso, arms, and limbs. The basic shape of a human further molded into that of a girl. The pink petals then faded to pink hair, and the rest of the body followed, forming the unmistakable image of Sakura.

His eyes widened as the figure moved towards him, kneeling down beside him. Her hands reached out to cup his face. One remained to caress his cheek and the other moved to stroke his hair. The feeling of the figure's hand in his hair was so familiar. He remembers that it was the exact same manner in which Sakura would comb her fingers in his hair. Some part of him reasoned that Sakura was a nymph and had visited him in the form of a tree spirit. But his logical side quickly argued that it was a ridiculous notion. Then, what was this in front of him?

His thoughts came to a halt as she moved her face closer to him. She was so close he could feel her breath fanning across the side of his face. Then, she moved even closer, until her lips brushed against his ear as she whispered, "Come home, Sasuke-kun. You're not safe here." She kissed his cheek gently, her lips so soft against his skin.

And as he turned his head to try to look at her face, to look deep into her eyes, she moved away.

His hand reached out, trying to touch her, as her own hands left him. But when Sasuke's hand had reached Sakura's face, she gave him a soft smile, and dissipated into a million petals.

"Sakura," he whispered, wishing he could make her reappear. If just his memories could materialize her, surely the spoken call would be stronger.

But it was of no use. The petals had dropped to the ground, utterly lifeless. One last petal drifted down in front of his face and landed on his thigh. It landed on one of his wounds. The petal landed directly in the center of the rapidly soaking bandages. He suddenly felt a sharp sting in the area. It was enough to break him out of his reverie.

He swept the petal away and inspected the wound. There was a strange color mixed with the blood. He rapidly unwrapped the bandages and realized he had been poisoned.

The color, it was exactly like the poison Team 7 had once encountered on a mission. He remembered that Sakura had crushed cherry blossom petals and applied it to the gash on his arm. He gathered the petals, headed to a stream, cleansed the wound, and applied the petal paste exactly the same way Sakura had once done. He felt immediately better.

_"It can cause hallucinations, drowsiness, and muscle paralysis, Sasuke-kun," he remembered her telling him as she treated his wound. "Victims of this poison fall asleep and never wake up."_

As he rewrapped his wound, he silently thanked Sakura, _again._


	3. Anticipation

Title: You are my home

Summary: Sakura anxiously awaits for Sasuke's return. Home is not a location. It is the people that welcome you.

Prompt: Anticipation

Warning(s): Hint of implied sexual activity, but nothing explicit.

Notes: one-shot. Post-canon.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to its owners.

-S-

"Hey, Forehead-girl! Take a break and go to that new flower shop with me, will you? I need to go check out the competition," Ino called out as she approached Sakura in the hospital's cafeteria.

"No, I can't. You know I'm busy," Sakura automatically replied. Ino had been relentlessly nagging her all week. She had carefully avoided the persistent blond-haired woman all day. She was almost successful, but her stomach had protested, having not eaten since breakfast. Sakura was hoping for a quick dash to the cafeteria, but Ino had caught her just as she was cleaning up her not-even-half-finished meal.

"Sakura… silly, stupid Sakura." Her eyebrows had risen at the insult, but she remained silent. Arguing with Ino would just make her talk endlessly until you gave up for fear of becoming deaf. "I'm taking you to my house. Chouji's mom is coming over and she's an amazing cook."

"Ino-pig! Let go, " Sakura protested as Ino proceeded to drag her out.

"Nope! Tsunade-sama's orders: Gotta keep you healthy." Ino said with a wink.

-S-

Even before the door to the Yamanaka house had opened, Sakura could already smell the delicious scent of some food she couldn't identify, but it didn't matter. The whole Rookie 9 was well aware of Akimichi-san's culinary talent. At the dinner table, Ino's and Chouji's fathers were already seated. Yamanaka-san was setting the table, and Akimichi-san, was finishing up in the kitchen.

"Sakura-chan! How are you, dear?" Yamanaka Asuka-san asked as gave Sakura a hug.

At this point, Sakura had already given into Ino's persistence and the smell of food had brought back her appetite.

"I'm okay." She replied simply, attempting a smile. Thankfully, Akimichi Eri-san, had come out of the kitchen to place a large, steaming bowl of soup down in the middle of the table. Asuka-san did not have a chance to make Sakura elaborate.

"Thank you for the meal," Sakura said, bowing her head in gratitude.

"No problem! You kids need to eat more!" Eri-san protested, but there was a wide smile on her face.

As the ladies cleaned up the dinner table, a messenger bird flew in through the open window in the kitchen. Yamanaka Inoichi gestured to Akimichi Chouza with a nod and they disappeared into the study.

Sakura watched them as she disappeared. Her heart pounded as her mind played a film of various possible worst-case scenarios. Ino, Eri, and Asuka shared a look; then, they hurried over to Sakura, leading her to sit down on the living room couch.

"I'm sure they're fine, Sakura-chan," Asuka-san cooed, stroking Sakura's chair like a mother would to a young daughter.

"Our graduating class was the best Konoha has had in years. They'll be back soon!" Ino bragged, hoping her loud, cheery tone would rub off on Sakura.

"Sai and Naruto sent a message last week. They still can't find _him_. It's been more than three weeks since they've last heard from him! I told him not to take unnecessary risks, but he doesn't listen!" Sakura had accepted the comfort of Eri-san's large, warm arms, fighting back tears.

"He'll be here soon. That Uchiha boy is working hard for you. He wouldn't miss his own wedding."

-S-

Saturday.

Two days since Inoichi-san had received the messenger bird. Sai and Naruto were being ordered back, but Naruto had stubbornly refused to return without Sasuke.

Shizune, the current Head of the Hospital after Tsunade's retirement, had restricted Sakura from working.

Hinata and Ino were assigned to care for her well-being. She laid on her bed being pampered, but her mind and heart were yearning for Sasuke.

Still no news of him.

-S-

One month after the last contact with Uchiha Sasuke, he was declared MIA.

MIA stood for "missing-in-action," but most shinobi knew it almost surely meant, "killed-in-action."

Sakura visited the temples everyday, hoping for Sasuke's safe return.

-S-

Thursday.

One evening, after refusing the proposed "Spa Day," Sakura had persuaded Ino and Hinata to take her to Sasuke's house for a relaxing dip in the Uchiha's private hot springs. It took some time, but they relented and gave her an evening of privacy.

She thought about the first time she had come here without _him_. It was right after the first report from one of Sai's ink birds that Sasuke had disobeyed orders and separated from the group to gather intel in the villages known to harbor criminals. They had been ordered to be discreet and avoid them, knowing for sure they contained rogue-nin. Yet Sasuke refused to pass up an opportunity to get info about the remaining members of Akatsuki.

She cursed when she heard about it. She knew she should have made Sasuke _promise_. No wonder he only gave the bare minimum of details when she asked about his mission. Sakura had headed to the Uchiha district, seeking anything that reminded her of Sasuke. Since then, she had frequently ventured here for a warm bath, closing her eyes and pretending that Sasuke was simply sitting across from her.

The first and only time she was here together with Sasuke, he showed her the secret path from the master bedroom to the entrance and gently made a small cut on her arm, dripping her blood onto one of the seals to ensure she would always have access to it. He slowly removed the silk, red robe he had given her as a present and removed his own blue robe. He gathered her in his arms, holding her like a princess, close to his chest. Slowly, he stepped into the water, making sure it was warm enough, but not too hot. He hoped the heat would ease pain and soreness Sakura was feeling in her legs.

He had listened quietly, and responded with short sentences as she discussed wedding plans with him. Mostly, he had simply said, "Whatever you prefer," giving her free reign on everything from clothing colors to types of drinks.

A short while later, Sakura was leaning against him, her eyes drifting close. The bath had been the perfect solution. Sasuke chose this moment, while Sakura was blissfully relaxed to tell her about his upcoming mission.

Sakura sat in the bath, tears dripping down into the water. She regretted having yelled at Sasuke and calling him selfish. It was never good to fight with someone leaving to go on a mission. They tended to get distracted. And distraction was fatal for shinobi. She had awoken to an empty bed, but she knew Sasuke had only recently left. The breakfast tray was on a small table parked next to the bed. A glint of metal caught her eye. She turned to see that the ring she had taken of during their argument was resting among the petals of a purple hyacinth lying down on the pillow beside her. The hot chocolate was lukewarm. If she left now, she could still catch Sasuke at the gates. But she had decided against it, she was still very upset with him. Still, she placed the ring back onto her finger, ate the meal, and placed the flower in a vase.

The flower had wilted a while ago, around the time Sasuke had stopped sending reports, but she couldn't find it in her to throw it away.

Lost in her musings, Sakura didn't realize there was an intruder until she heard footsteps. Impossible. The Uchiha clan was always very careful and had set numerous traps and barriers to protect its members. Sasuke himself had reinforced the seals upon his return. She opened her eyes to see a bouquet of purple hyacinths dangling in front of her face.

Sakura's heart was wildly beating, threatening to escape her body. Sasuke kneeled behind her holding the flowers.

Sasuke. Her Sasuke-kun was back!

She stood, forgetting her state of undress and embraced him tightly. He dropped the flowers on the ground and stood up with her, returning the gesture.

She pulled back, looking over him for signs of injury. One of his arms was bandaged, some blood staining the white. Other than that, he looked fine. She had removed his shirt, and moved her hands across his chest, looking for injuries. A relieved sigh escaped her and she brought her gaze back up to his face. His eyes had switched from onyx to blood red Sharingan and he was staring at her stomach. Sakura tilted his chin back up and pressed a kiss to his lips.

"You ruined the surprise!" Sakura exclaimed giggling as Sasuke looked into her eyes, searching for more confirmation.

"Yes, Sasuke-kun, you're going to be a daddy."

Sasuke had pulled her back into his embrace, murmuring words of gratitude mixed with apologies for letting her wake up alone and leaving her.

"We missed you so much Sasuke-kun," she mumbled into his chest. He smelled faintly of smoke from his fire jutsu, but she didn't mind. All that mattered was that he was alive and well and back.

"I'm home, Sakura." There was a beautiful smile on Sasuke's face as he leaned down to kiss his future wife, the mother of his child, his _family_. This was home.

-S-

A/N:

1) Asuka and Eri are just random names I picked for Chouji and Ino's moms.

2) Purple hyacinth, in the language of flowers means, "I'm sorry."

3) one-shot but I like doing post-canon so I may do other one-shots related to this.


	4. Loss

Title: Everything and nothing

Summary: Sasuke separated his life in two parts. One was his life before the massacre. The other was his life after, but he thought it was more of an _existence_ rather than a life.

Rating: T

Prompt: Loss

Warning(s): Blood

Notes: Short. To be expanded.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to its owners.

-S-

Sasuke separated his life in two parts. One was his life before the massacre. The other was his life after, but he thought it was more of an _existence_ rather than a life. A life means living, and Sasuke didn't consider himself to be _alive._

-S-

When he was younger, his life was not perfect. No, it was far from that. But it was happy. He had a family, a home, and even if he was the younger brother, he could still get everything he wanted, anything that could be bought with money.

But the things Sasuke wants most, _needs_, cannot be bought.

-S-

He remembers being upset with his father for not acknowledging his accomplishments, his brother for never giving him enough attention, and his mother for treating him like a pitiful baby. But even then, he loved his family.

-S-

The second part of his life consisted of a perverted teacher, a loud blonde idiot, and an infatuated princess. Sometimes he wondered. If he could have let go of his past, would he have been content with their taped together storybook life?

-S-

When Sasuke left, he realized that there were some things he was leaving behind. He thought he had lost everything. But when he left Konoha, he realized he was leaving with much more than just one backpack. And he left behind the last traces of his happiness as he laid Sakura down on the stone bench.

-S-

Years pass.

Blood, sweat, and tears.

-S-

Then, one day, three of them met again on a battlefield. Kakashi, as always, sat at the sidelines, and watched over his students with both eyes.

In the aftermath, Naruto has transformed. Blood dripped down from Sasuke's eyes. Sakura was nowhere to be found.

Sasuke hasn't felt this empty since he lost his brother again. He thought he had become numb to pain by then. But without Sakura in his arms, he felt like he had everything to lose.

When they found Sakura under a pile of rubble, bruised and bloody, but _alive,_ Sasuke held her close to his chest. He pressed his lips to the pulse on her neck, assuring himself that she was alive.

Sasuke realizes that although he lost his family, he gained a new one. And he will never let them go again.


End file.
